Tanya Huff is awesome
I've been posting day by day reports about the discussions and things from the convention, interesting tidbits from the writerly guests and things like that. But let's face it, what you really all want to know is whether or not Tanya Huff now has a restraining order out against me.
The answer? No, she actually doesn't, although she probably should, considering I not only stalked her all weekend, but I told her I was stalking her. Instead of being creeped out by the maniacally obsessive gleam in my eye, however, she just laughed and started telling me where she was going to be ahead of time to make stalking easier for me. I think this either makes me the best or worst stalker in the world, I'm not sure which.
Also? I want to be Tanya Huff when I grow up.
I actually sort of embarrassed myself on Saturday, which of course makes for a hilarious story I have to share with everyone.
As a literary geek, the vast majority of panels and discussions I attended were literary. And naturally, most of them featured Tanya (which of course had nothing to do with my stalkerishness). At one particular panel, she ducked in, dropped off some stuff, and stepped out to the "little writer's room" before it began. (No, I didn't follow her. I'm not quite that creepy.) To kill some time, the guy moderating that particular session began talking to the crowd, asking how many people were there at the convention for the first time. I'd never been before, so he asked me why I'd chosen to come out. Of course, the only answer I could give was "Uh... Tanya Huff..." And of course, because this is how life works, that's the moment she comes back in the room, which I only realized when I was half finished saying it already.
This particular session was about Contemporary Fantasy, which I would have been keen on even if it hadn't featured Tanya Huff. So she settled herself in and set up one of her books ( Stealing Magic, actually), and suddenly realized she didn't have any of her contemporary fantasies with her. She'd done a signing earlier that day, so I piped up with "I have Summon the Keeper on me..." She laughed and used it as her display.
Later, about halfway through the panel, she started talking about her Blood series, which are very genre-crossing. They're mysteries, they're urban fantasy, they're a little bit of paranormal romance, they're a little dark and horrorish... and she mentioned on the first edition, the type font on the covers was scripty and fantasy-like because the publishers figured it would only have a chance if they marketed the books to the dark fantasy crowd. She's trying to describe the font, at which point I'm digging around in my bag again. "I have a first edition right here..."
So that went on display, too.
And of course, when Scholar of Decay came up, I had that one on me, too, and although it didn't go up on display, she remembered and mentioned I had it there. I was pretty impressed at her memory, considering the size of the lineup for her book signing earlier. I guess it helps when you bring a broad variety and they're not all from the same series.
So all things considered, I'm a creepy stalker, but it seems to work for me, so let's just keep running with that. And now, I have to go polish my shrine, since I've got 22 autographed Huff books, along with a reading copy of one of her short stories. Hmm, maybe I should invest in some glass cases...
And while I have the topic open, I'd like to mention that Tanya is absolutely wonderful to talk with and makes for an amazing panelist. She's smart and witty, passionate with a great sense of humour, and she honestly loves what she does. If any of you get a chance to meet her, hear her do a reading, or to attend a convention she'll be at, do it. You won't be disappointed.
The answer? No, she actually doesn't, although she probably should, considering I not only stalked her all weekend, but I told her I was stalking her. Instead of being creeped out by the maniacally obsessive gleam in my eye, however, she just laughed and started telling me where she was going to be ahead of time to make stalking easier for me. I think this either makes me the best or worst stalker in the world, I'm not sure which.
Also? I want to be Tanya Huff when I grow up.
I actually sort of embarrassed myself on Saturday, which of course makes for a hilarious story I have to share with everyone.
As a literary geek, the vast majority of panels and discussions I attended were literary. And naturally, most of them featured Tanya (which of course had nothing to do with my stalkerishness). At one particular panel, she ducked in, dropped off some stuff, and stepped out to the "little writer's room" before it began. (No, I didn't follow her. I'm not quite that creepy.) To kill some time, the guy moderating that particular session began talking to the crowd, asking how many people were there at the convention for the first time. I'd never been before, so he asked me why I'd chosen to come out. Of course, the only answer I could give was "Uh... Tanya Huff..." And of course, because this is how life works, that's the moment she comes back in the room, which I only realized when I was half finished saying it already.
This particular session was about Contemporary Fantasy, which I would have been keen on even if it hadn't featured Tanya Huff. So she settled herself in and set up one of her books ( Stealing Magic, actually), and suddenly realized she didn't have any of her contemporary fantasies with her. She'd done a signing earlier that day, so I piped up with "I have Summon the Keeper on me..." She laughed and used it as her display.
Later, about halfway through the panel, she started talking about her Blood series, which are very genre-crossing. They're mysteries, they're urban fantasy, they're a little bit of paranormal romance, they're a little dark and horrorish... and she mentioned on the first edition, the type font on the covers was scripty and fantasy-like because the publishers figured it would only have a chance if they marketed the books to the dark fantasy crowd. She's trying to describe the font, at which point I'm digging around in my bag again. "I have a first edition right here..."
So that went on display, too.
And of course, when Scholar of Decay came up, I had that one on me, too, and although it didn't go up on display, she remembered and mentioned I had it there. I was pretty impressed at her memory, considering the size of the lineup for her book signing earlier. I guess it helps when you bring a broad variety and they're not all from the same series.
So all things considered, I'm a creepy stalker, but it seems to work for me, so let's just keep running with that. And now, I have to go polish my shrine, since I've got 22 autographed Huff books, along with a reading copy of one of her short stories. Hmm, maybe I should invest in some glass cases...
And while I have the topic open, I'd like to mention that Tanya is absolutely wonderful to talk with and makes for an amazing panelist. She's smart and witty, passionate with a great sense of humour, and she honestly loves what she does. If any of you get a chance to meet her, hear her do a reading, or to attend a convention she'll be at, do it. You won't be disappointed.